Sherpa Stone, LLC

Sherpa Stone had only one employee and one of its owners working two jobs to support the business when it began in March 2003. Four short years later, Sherpa Stone is debt-free and employs ten full-time employees, each having the opportunity to earn up to $25 per hour as master fabricators.

In addition to providing well-paying employment opportunities, Sherpa Stone’s owners have been able to create a work environment that embraces diverse cultures. Sherpa spoke no Spanish when he opened the business, and Garcia was far from fluent. Now they communicate effectively with employees in Spanish out of respect for the dominant language of their staff. Languages spoken are Spanish, Nepali and English. There are eight families being supported by Sherpa Stone.

The Santa Fe SBDC was instrumental in the successful creation of Sherpa Stone, according to Garcia. The business needed a start-up loan and in order to secure the loan, the lender required a business plan including a three-year financial projection. After a few enlightening meetings and several phone calls with Mike Mykris, SBDC Director and Business Consultant, Sherpa Stone’s first set of financial projections were created.

Sherpa Stone did receive its start-up loan and was able to pay it off in their first year in business. Sales have increased over 400 percent since then and continue to climb, attesting to the pair’s high-quality products and service. Garcia and Sherpa’s commitment to one-on-one interaction with clients keeps Sherpa Stone at the top of the list for designers, architects, builders and homeowners throughout the region. Sherpa’s growth has come from referrals and word-of-mouth, a direct result of their customer service and excellence in job performance. Just recently, Sherpa Stone was selected to be the stone fabricator for a block of one hundred, $1million-plus homes to be built here in Santa Fe over the next five years. They did not win a bid, they were simply asked to be the stone fabricators for the project.

Sherpa Stone continues to maintain a relationship with the Santa Fe SBDC in a number of ways. Patricia is a member of the SBDC Advisory Committee, additionally; she and Sherpa have just purchased land for a building site and are preparing to build a new, modern $1million building to house offices, showrooms and a new fabrication shop. A new, updated business plan complete with financial projections is again being developed with the assistance with the SBDC.